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BJPenn.Com Exclusive: Team Takedown Fighter Chas Skelly Waits for His Shot While Racking up Wins

Chas Skelly is another one of those fighters that you probably never heard of, but that doesn’t mean he’s not making any noise. An integral part of Team Takedown, Skelly has the benefit of training with guys like Johny Hendricks, Shane Roller, Jake Rosholt and Jared Rosholt on an everyday basis.

Known as The Scrapper, Skelly grew up in Pennsylvania and was always very athletic. He’s always been something of a clown willing to do whatever he can to make everyone laugh even if it’s at his own expense. He certainly has a bright future which came about because he worked hard when he was younger.

“I started wrestling when I was around five years old,” Skelly told BJPenn.Com. “When I moved to Texas I took up football and baseball for awhile, but wrestling was always number one. My senior year in high school I quit the other sports and won the state championship in wrestling. One night in my dorm room I saw the first season of TUF and thought it was bad ass. Once college was over I still wanted to compete. It was either get a real job or start fighting.”

Skelly began training at TTD almost by accident. While sitting on the sidelines because of a serious injury he started running out of guys to help him rehab. He had heard about TTD and took a shot not knowing he would never leave. The team offered him a chance to train with a lot of great fighters as well as an opportunity to take his career to the next level.

“I was pretty active my first year in MMA and got hurt after my seventh fight,” said Skelly. “I broke my foot and was out over a year. I began rehabbing and was training with Johnny Bedord and some local guys, but they all got hurt leaving me without anyone to train with. I showed up one day at TTD and Ted the manager noticed me and Marc Laimon asked me if I wanted to train with them full time and I said yes.”

“The thing that helps me the most is the structure and knowing when my next workout is. I can look at my schedule and know when and where I need to be at all times. Laimon is a great coach and helps me get better and better every day. The attitude and atmosphere is awesome, everyone is there to win. It’s a real positive place and everyone pushes each other to be the best. We all love to have fun and everyone has a good sense of humor. We truly have great chemistry.”

With a record of 9-0 with six wins by submission and one by knockout, Skelly prides himself on going for the finish. He is looking forward to what could possibly be the biggest test of his young career.

“I’m scheduled to fight for Premier Fight Series on September 22nd,” Skelly said. “I am facing Nick “The Ghost” Gonzales who I will refer to as Casper! He’s a good striker who looks to outpoint people rather than finish the fight. I plan on standing with him and then take him down. There’s no way he can defend my takedowns and once I’m on top I plan on beating him up on the ground. I really like to beat people up; it’s more fun for the fans.”

Wrestling is the obvious strength that all members of Team Takedown share, but Skelly is looking to use his grappling skills to enhance all the other areas of his game. He believes he presents a tough test for anyone in 145lb. weight class.

“I’m very tall and rangy for my weight class,” offered the 27-year-old Featherweight. “I have really good strength, I may not look really strong, but once you start grappling me I can surprise you. My striking is decent, overall I feel like I’m well rounded. I work really hard to improve all aspects of my game. I have a real funky style and my BJJ has come a long way. Being a wrestler has helped me sharpen up my jiu-jitsu. I’m not necessarily slick, but I force my way in and take the submission when the opportunity arises. When I grab a hold of someone I look to finish the fight right then and there.”

If he defeats Gonzales he will run his record to 10-0 and should at the very least begin attracting the attention of some bigger promotions. Skelly has goals that he has set for himself and knows his opportunity will come as long as he keeps racking up the wins and looking impressive.

“I’ve heard people say that I’m right on the verge of getting that phone call,” Skelly admitted. “To me it’s all here say until I see the contract. It’s real exciting to know that I’m close to reaching one of my goals. My initial goal was to go 10-0 and I’m one win away from achieving that. After that my goal is to make it to the UFC and hopefully I’ll get a call any day from them telling me they have a spot open. I’m willing to take a fight on short notice against anyone. I feel like I’m getting better with each and every fight and I’m going to keep beating people up and try to win every fight as decisively as I can.”

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